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Lost

The panel's description: "If the most recent season finale was any indication of things to come, you will not want to miss this panel. Co-creator/executive producer Damon Lindelof and executive producer Carlton Cuse will discuss season 4 of Lost, leading up to the season finale. They will answer your questions and maybe even offer up some surprises of their own."

12:09 PM: And we're off. Clips from the upcoming DVD release. A fake "Dateline"-esque documentary about the Oceanic Six. A reel of the freighter folk. An extra in which you can watch all the flash forwards in the order they were intended. The last bit is the most amusing since it features a flash forward of Damon and Carlton themselves - Damon years from now with an eyepatch and a Yankees 2010 world champions T-shirt with Carlton with a handlebar mustache and a "Four More Year" Obama T-shirt. Funny stuff.

12:15 PM: Carlton notes the Dharma Initiative is sponsoring their panel since they need the advertising help this late in the show's run. Hans von Egan, their VP of recruiting, then is here to talk about the organization. They've been performing ASR tests (Attitude, Suitability and Readiness tests). Yes, it's just as silly as it sounds.

12:18 PM: He shows a short video of Comic-Con attendees failing the test, including Damon and Carlton. Jennifer Pritchard, Liam Brucker, Allison Gibbons, Dan Bronson, Matthew Loberg however passed the test and just happen to be on stage. They'll move on to the next critical stage of the Dharma Initiative (or watch something no one else can). You can try yourself at DharmaWantsYou.com.

12:22 PM: So that's over. Time for audience Q&A.

12:23 PM: Someone asks if the island moved when the hatch exploded and the sky turned purple. The answer - no but something else important did happen.

12:24 PM: Are Jin and Locke dead? Or are they in the zombie season? Jin will "still be on the show in some form. You have not seen the last of either of those two characters." He adds, "Death is a relative term really... there is a lot of story yet to be told."

12:25 PM: Damon confirms old news - 17 episodes of season five starting February 2009 and 17 episodes of season six starting February 2010.

12:26 PM: Carlton's favorite episode: "The Constant." Favorite season: the first due to the adreniline rush and terror of executing the show. Damon's favorite episode: the season one finale. Damon adds he loves the work they did on season four.

12:28 PM: A fan asks if there's anything to read into the ad campaign in which the reflection in the water is a cityscape. Carlton says they're reading too much into it.

12:30 PM: Someone asks for a promise to do a Russeau flashback. Carlton says this year will feature the definitive story of Russeau, but it won't be done via flashback. There's doing something different from a storytelling standpoint.

12:32 PM: Damon says production on season five will begin in about three weeks, SAG willing.

12:33 PM: A fan asks if the rest of the writing staff - or even their moms - know all of the show's secrets. In short, the writers know a lot but not everything. And their moms like to be kept in the dark.

12:34 PM: Someone asks if there's any special guests waiting to surprise us. No such luck, everyone's off in Hawaii gearing up for production. I should add that the guys are giving out various prizes to people that ask questions. Very cool.

12:35 PM: A fan asks if they've seen the movie "Lost Horizon" and if it's influenced the show. Carlton says yes they've seen it but it hasn't informed the show. They add that if they blatantly rip off anything, they'll cop to it (a la Stephen King).

12:37 PM: A where's Vincent question. "Vincent made it and will appear in season five," Damon notes. "I think it's safe to say that Vicent's going to make it to the very end of the show."

12:38 PM: Someone asks if Jack and Kate will end up together. Not surprisingly they can't say anything. "Personally I really like those two but professionally I have to take the fifth," Carlton adds. The two go on to debate whether the latest prize - a Jack action figure really looks like Jack...

12:39 PM: ...and sure enough Jack himself, Matthew Fox, appears.

12:40 PM: A little girl asks if Kate will ever see Sawyer again. This crushes Matthew. The answer - yes.

12:43 PM: A fan asks how far forward the show will flash. "Once again when season five starts, you're not going to know where or when you are. And the way we're going to tell stories is going to be very different too." Island stories, off island stories, stories at different periods of time.

12:45 PM: People like to give their personal web sites when asking questions.

12:46 PM: Damon reveals Daniel's notebook - which has notes about the past, present and future - will be featured prominently in the new season. The person that asked about this is a dead ringer for Hurley. His prize - a container of Dharma Initiative ranch dressing.

12:49 PM: Carlton says the writers enjoy writing themselves into corners, corners which obviously they hope to find a way out of before filming on that episode begins.

12:50 PM: Someone asks how many toes Richard Alpert has. Carlton says Richard is obviously quite old but appears young due to the island's time weirdness. He adds we'll be seeing more about his character shortly. The person who asked gets a "I asked a Richard Alpert question and all I got was this lousy T-shirt" T-shirt.

12:53 PM: Dan Bronson, one of the previous testees, storms the stage saying he has the footage he's just been shown. "After four seasons you deserve some answers!"

12:58 PM: It's another Dr. Candle video in which he begs the Dharma Initiative to reform and try and change the past. I'll try and get the transcript later. But now I have to dash.